Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Roberto Cavalli were among the fashion houses whose darkly colored catwalk collections for the 2013-14 autumn/winter season catwalk shows evoked the anxiety over grim expectations for Italian fashion sales, worries over European economic health and uncertainty over domestic politics.

Designer Miuccia Prada, whose sleek collections are eagerly awaited at the Milan week, chose a post-industrial setting to present her look for a modern woman hemmed in by the grim realities of life since an economic downturn began in 2008.

“It seems to me that in the contemporary world you cannot let yourself go completely,” Prada said after her show.

Armani re-worked a masculine style for a collection that included suspenders and jumpsuits in black velvet accessorized with black berets.

“We must create clothes that women wear,” Armani said backstage from a show attended by Princess Charlene of Monaco.

Luxury retailers have fared better than other industries during the prolonged recession in southern Europe thanks to demand from wealthy travelers from Asia, the Middle East and Russia.

But global sales of Italian fashion - including those of smaller brands hit hard by the crisis - are expected to fall by 3.5 percent this year after dropping 5.4 percent in 2012, textile and fashion body Sistema Moda Italia (SMI) said.

Designers expressed concerns about stability in Italy, where the uncertain outcome of parliamentary elections held during the fashion week rekindled fears of a new euro zone debt crisis.

“We need infrastructures to attract tourists but we also need a long-term government for such long-term measures,” said Michele Norsa, chief executive of Salvatore Ferragamo.

SCULPTED BEAUTY

Gucci designer Frida Giannini offered jackets narrowed at the waist with egg-shaped shoulders and worn over pencil skirts below the knee. A mostly pragmatic look designed for work.

Giannini, who is going to have her first baby in a couple of weeks, used colors like purple, rust, moss green and dark blue for a femme fatale she said was “steely yet sexy”.

If colors were dark, materials were bold.

Neoprene, lurex and vinyl surfaced everywhere, with Versace delivering the most daring looks in a rock-and-roll show.